Sea2Summit adventure race numbers surge

Neill O'Neill

A record time was set at the sixth annual Sea2Summit adventure race on Saturday in Westport, where in excess of 2,100 participants took part in what has become one of the premium endurance events in Ireland.
Lonan O’Farrell from Galway crossed the line first in the ‘Supreme’ category with a hugely impressive time of 2:47:38. The top lady in this category was Emma Hand with a time of 3:27:30, breaking the women’s record, while in the ‘Spirit’ category, Jerry O’Sullivan finished first with a time of 1:39:04, while the top lady was Athenry-native, now living in Westport, Aileen McNamara, in a time of 1:59:22.
The gruelling 56.5km ‘Supreme’ course took the participants through an intense journey of road running, mountain cycling and the challenging uphill run to the summit of Croagh Patrick and a sea dash in Clew Bay, before finishing in the middle of Westport town.
“It took a lot of years of work to get to this, the mountain was tough as usual but it was a great race and great to see all the crowds, it was just super,” commented Lonan. “It’s my fifth year in a row doing it and I have finally got to where I want to be, it’s without a doubt one of the best events around.”
Now one of the largest adventure races in the country, the extreme sporting challenge has attracted the elite of adventure race enthusiasts from all over Ireland and beyond, including England, France the United States and Canada.  
Leading the field was former Irish international soccer star Kevin Kilbane, who took on the Spirit Event, in aid of this year’s charity partners, the John Giles Foundation and The Down Syndrome Centre.
“This is my second year doing the race, the course was tough but the atmosphere was just electric. I’m so honoured to be associated with a race of this calibre,” he said.
Starting at the Castlecourt Hotel in the heart of Westport Town, the race incorporates a mix of road running, cycling and the hike up Croagh Patrick. Competitors have the choice of the Spirit Event (30km) or the Supreme Event (56km).
The brainchild of the Westport Plaza and Castlecourt Hotel, Sea 2 Summit has extended the tourism season in Westport to the middle of November, packing the town and surrounding areas out last weekend.